Field of the Invention
Ozone has been called "mother nature's effluent treatment." Ozone (O.sub.3) has been used throughout Europe to disinfect and improve the quality of drinking water since 1906. When the first commercial plant for an application of this sort began operating an Nice, France. Several thousand installations are now in operation, the most of which are in Europe. Ozone is used principally in water treatment for disinfection as well as taste and odor enhancement. Present day demands for cleaner effluent streams from Industrial Plants, along with simpler, more efficient means of treating municipal sewage indicate the much greater use of ozone, if its cost of production can be kept competitive with chlorine dioxide, peroxide, and permanganate.
Recent findings that chlorinated water may produce carcinogens with trace hydrocarbons is a further reason to expand the use of ozone as a disinfectant and sterilant.